More than half a million dollars is being splurged on focus groups to help spruik uncapping university fees despite polling showing nearly three-quarters of people have never seen the taxpayer-funded ads the "market research" is helping design.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Polling conducted by UMR for the National Tertiary Education Union shows 74 per cent of the 1000 people surveyed could not recognise screen shots from the publicly-funded ads Education Minister Christopher Pyne announced earlier this month.
Of those who had seen the ads, only half knew that they were to sell the Education Minister's agenda and nearly half of those said the ad made no difference to their views.
More than half of the total number surveyed said it was "inappropriate and unacceptable" for the government to spend public money to make the case for its higher education reforms.
The data comes as the government confirmed it has forked out another $395,000 to research company Orima Research to conduct more focus groups on the Higher Education changes, which the Senate rejected earlier this month.
The same company had already received $163,000 to conduct "market research on the level of awareness and understanding of the Higher Education System" between October and December.
But a spokesman for Mr Pyne defended the cash splash saying the Department of Education had picked up a "consistent lack of understanding of Australia's current higher education system" and "in particular the status of HECS" after attending 45 uni open days between July and September.
"The department engaged a specialist research organisation to examine the extent to which this feedback reflected broader views and understanding of the higher education system," said the spokesperson.
Jeannie Rea from the NTEU said the government should stop wasting taxpayers money on what she said was "purely political advertising".
"From the government's point of view, you would have to conclude that this was a complete waste of taxpayer funds, especially at a time when the government is considering sweeping cuts to education," said Ms Rea.
Mr Pyne announced the day after his reforms were defeated in the Senate that the Government was considering embarking on a taxpayer funded ad blitz. At the time he said the Independent Senator John Madigan had called for a campaign but Senator Madigan angrily denied this.
Mr Pyne has vowed to reopen negotiations with the crossbenchers in the New Year and try again to get his plan to uncap university fees through the Senate.
